


crutch

by broikawa



Series: percy's bokuaka week 2020 [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is a Mess, Anxiety, BokuAka Week 2020, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Boyfriend, Crying, Established Relationship, Exhaustion, Forehead Kisses, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Overworking, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broikawa/pseuds/broikawa
Summary: keiji didn’t know when to take a break. this is what koutarou had to watch.or ;; bkak day 7 - [hurt/comfort] [recovery]
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: percy's bokuaka week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858111
Comments: 2
Kudos: 133
Collections: Bokuaka Week 2020





	crutch

**Author's Note:**

> i usually thrive off of hurt/comfort prompts but i hate seeing these two sad :(((( hope yall enjoy

Keiji didn’t know when to take a break.

He was a passionate person, always looking at the finer details and wanting to do a good job. He was persistent, and he was stubborn.

But sometimes, his passion for his work turned against himself. Telling others he was fine was second nature, one more hour of work would be fine, he could catch up on sleep after everything was done (it was never done, there was always something to do, and Keiji accepted it without complaint. He didn’t have time for complaints).

And this is what Koutarou had to watch.

He had to watch his boyfriend work himself to exhaustion, to sickness sometimes. He worked overtime at his office some nights only to come home and continue to sit on his computer long into the morning.

It was worse near his deadlines. Under his eyes sat permanent bags, dark from the lack of sleep and long hours spent in front of a screen. It was no wonder why he needed glasses, why he got such frequent headaches. He was running on caffeine, Advil, and an empty tank, and he was bound to crash soon if Koutarou didn’t do something about it.

“I’m home,” Keiji said from the door.

“Welcome home,” Koutarou responded. He looked at him as he walked closer, reaching out for his hand. Keiji took it and placed a kiss on his forehead. “How was your day?” he asked.

“It was okay,” he said, shuffling to the kitchen.

He came back with dinner, his computer under his arm. Sitting down on the other side of the couch, he opened it.

“Keiji,” Koutarou said.

He looked at him.

“You haven’t even been home for twenty minutes.”

“I just need to finish something up,” he said, starting to type. “I’ll be done soon.”

An hour later, Keiji was still on his computer, his eyebrows pushed together in a way that also contributed to his headaches.

Koutarou, on the other hand, was nearly asleep on the other side of the couch, his eyes lazily watching Keiji type away. He was going to fall asleep there if he didn’t move soon, he figured.

“Keiji,” he said with a yawn.

“Hm?” he asked, keeping his gaze on the screen.

“Wanna go to bed?”

He looked at him now. His eye bags were getting so dark. “I’m still working on this.”

“How long’s it gonna take?” he asked him, moving to sit next to him. He leaned into his side, resting his head on his shoulder.

“I’m not sure,” he said. He put his head down on Koutarou’s. “If you’re tired, you can go to bed.”

“I wanna go to bed with you,” he murmured, looking up at him.

“I know,” he said, “I just…”

His words trailed off, and the more seconds Koutarou waited for him to finish, the more he realized the end of the sentence was not coming.

“Keiji?” he said.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice suddenly much sadder.

Koutarou sat up and looked at him closely. “For what?”

Keiji kept his hands over his keyboard, but was still, even his expression still. Tears started welling in his eyes, Koutarou could see, and he remained still even as the first one slid down his face.

Koutarou moved his computer down to the coffee table and took him into his arms, feeling him collapse onto his chest in defeat. He cried for a while, choking out sobs in between quiet rushes of tears, as Koutarou pet his hair and held him close. It pained him more than anything to see him like this, so exhausted that he couldn’t do anything but cry.

When he was done and the tears flowed much slower, he said again, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I have so much to do.”

“I know.”

“I’m so tired.”

His words sounded like they were made of exhaustion. Like it tired him to even get them out.

“I think you should take tomorrow off,” said Koutarou, but Keiji immediately shook his head.

“I can’t,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I…” he trailed. “I have things to do.”

“You can take one day off, can’t you?”

“I don’t know.”

Koutarou then came to a realization.

“Keiji,” he said, “have you ever taken a sick day?”

He was quiet.

“Ji…”

His response was even quieter. “No…”

“Why not?”

“I haven’t needed to,” he told him. “I’ve been fine.”

“I don’t think this is what fine looks like.”

He turned his gaze away from Koutarou, rubbing at his eyes. “I just don’t want to let anyone down.”

“And you won’t,” he assured him. “You can take a day off if you want to.”

He looked at him, looked at his expression, and he could tell he was calculating, thinking, analyzing the best possible option for him. While he didn’t quite understand it, Koutarou knew that’s what was best for him, so he let him sit there, against his chest, and think.

“What if it puts me even more behind?”

“Then you’ll figure it out,” he told him. “You’re good at that.”

“But…”

“No  _ what if _ s,” he said, taking his hands in his, “and no  _ but _ s. You’re the hardest working person I’ve ever met, Ji, and I know you’ll figure it out. You gotta rest.”

“I guess so,” he said finally.

“You always tell me to rest after games,” he said. “You should do the same, right?”

“Yeah…” he said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“You’ll do it then? You’ll take tomorrow off?”

He nodded slowly, almost cautious of his own answer. “Yeah, I will.”

Koutarou brought his hands to his mouth, kissing his knuckles softly. “Keiji, I promise you, we’re going to have the most relaxing day possible,” he told him. “We can do whatever you want, as long as it’s not work.”

“Okay,” he said, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Thank you,” he added quietly.

“For what?”

“Everything, I guess.”

He kissed his forehead, lingering. “Anytime.”

This was not going to fix everything, and Koutarou was aware of it.

There would be more late nights, more headaches, more breakdowns and more tears, all of it.

But if he could take away his boyfriend’s stress for a day, an hour, just a moment, that was enough for him.

He would always be more than enough for him.

**Author's Note:**

> don't be like akaashi – let yourself take breaks!! burnout is real and sometimes u just need to take a day off. much like him, work burns me out ! i am taking at least a week off of writing after this week is over -w- take care of yourselves! <3
> 
> my [promo post](https://adrientheodorepercival.tumblr.com/post/625742124157124608/crutch)
> 
> tumblrs  
> etherealparrish (main)  
> ohmyhoneybun (lovecore/mlm)  
> historicalsgnificance (dark academia/studyblr)  
> adrientheodorepercival (writeblr)


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